Law

14th January 2011

4:11 PM — A Scottish woman has been accused of tricking two women into sex by pretending to be a man. Samantha Brooks, 26, of Perthshire, is said to have posed as a man called Lee Brooks for nine years and hidden her genitals by claiming she had testicular cancer.

3:52 PM — Two female teachers sacked from a New York school after a janitor claimed to have seen them having sex are to sue. Alini Brito, 30, and Cindy Mauro, 34, were allegedly caught naked in a classroom last November while the rest of the James Madison High School in Brooklyn, new York, was watching a performance.

3:44 PM — The governor of the US state of Maryland says he will sign a gay marriage bill into law. The bill is currently progressing through the state Legislature and it is thought to have enough support to pass.

2:05 PM — Large public employers are being encouraged to find out how represented lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people are in their organisations. As part of the Equality Act, all public bodies will be required to publish information about the diversity of their staff from April but the government will not set diversity targets.

11:56 AM — Gay couples living in Ireland who have married or had a civil partnership abroad will be recognised as civil partners from today. The change is part of Ireland's new civil partnership laws, which give gay couples almost all the rights of marriage.

10:53 AM — A transgender drug dealer was spared prison after a judge said placing her in a men's facility would prolong her "sexual nightmare". Jean Morris, 41, was convicted of possessing Class C drug ketamine with intent to supply.

12th January 2011

5:11 PM — The police chief of Palm Springs has resigned after targeting gay tourists in an undercover sex sting. David Dominguez was also recorded apparently using the word 'faggot' and one of his detectives used the word 'c*******er' about a suspect.

3:58 PM — The US state of Arizona has quickly pushed through legislation to ban the picketing of funerals. The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church had planned to picket the funeral of a nine-year-old girl to gain publicity but now says it will not disrupt the event in exchange for air time on radio stations.

1:21 PM — Where do we draw the line between religious freedom and free speech on the one hand, and public order and the protection of minorities on the other hand? Should people of faith have the right to express views that others find offensive and bigoted?

11th January 2011

5:02 PM — Hillary Clinton says she's tried to put LGBT rights "near the top" of the Obama administration's foreign agenda. In an interview with US gay magazine The Advocate, Ms Clinton said there was a "rising global tide of violence" against LGBT people around the world and said America was "taking the lead" in making changes.

4:38 PM — The Ugandan opposition leader has reportedly suggested that homosexuality should be decriminalised. Kizza Besigye, who leads a four-party opposition group, is to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in a vote next month.

10th January 2011

5:30 PM — A pro-gay US congresswoman is in a critical condition and six people were killed after a gunman opened fire at her public meeting in Arizona. Gabrielle Giffords, of Tucson, remains gravely ill in hospital after being shot in the head at close range.

4:20 PM — Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for progress on gay marriage by the end of this year. Speaking on Saturday on the tenth anniversary of the equal age of consent, he said that there was more to do on marriage equality.

6th January 2011

4:45 PM — A bill to allow gay couples to marry is to be re-introduced today. Democrat representative Arthur Handy told The Providence Journal he has secured the support of 27 so-sponsors and expects to sign up more.

2:36 PM — Another Turkish LGBT organisation has been ordered to close. A criminal court in Bursa, north-west Turkey, ruled that the Rainbow Association must shut down after claims its members had engaged in prostitution. The group denies the allegations.

1:37 PM — Three door staff at a Belfast gay club were taken to hospital yesterday after being attacked with a weapon believed to be a knuckle-duster. The staff - two women and one man - were treated for non-life-threatening head or facial injuries.

5th January 2011

4:21 PM — A teenager from Plymouth faces jail after he attacked a man he thought was coming on to him. Liam O'Brien, 18, punched and kicked the victim on the floor because he believed he was exposing himself deliberately, Plymouth magistrates' court heard.

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